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Gulf of Mexico

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Coordinates: 25°N 90°W / 25°N 90°W / 25; -90 (Gulf of Mexico)
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Gulf of Mexico
Golfo de México[a]
Bathymetry (depth of seafloor) of the Gulf of Mexico
LocationAmerican Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates25°N 90°W / 25°N 90°W / 25; -90 (Gulf of Mexico)
River sourcesRio Grande, Mississippi River, Mobile River, Panuco River, Jamapa River, Pascagoula River, Tecolutla River, Usumacinta River, Apalachicola River
Ocean/sea sourcesAtlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea
Basin countries
List
Max. width1,500 km (930 mi)
Surface area1,550,000 km2 (600,000 sq mi)
Average depth1,615 m (5,299 ft)[2]
Max. depth3,750 to 4,384 m (12,303 to 14,383 ft)[2]
SettlementsVeracruz, Houston, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Tampa, Havana, Southwest Florida, Mobile, Gulfport, Tampico, Key West, Cancún, Ciudad del Carmen, Coatzacoalcos, Panama City

The Gulf of Mexico (Spanish: Golfo de México) is an ocean basin or bay of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a marginal sea of North America.[3][4] The United States of America, Mexico, and Cuba are the countries around it.

The Straits of Florida connect to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean, and the Yucatán Channel connects to the Caribbean Sea. Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf has very small tides.

The size of the Gulf basin is about 1.6 million square kilometers (615,000 square miles). Almost half of the basin is shallow continental shelf waters. The climate is tropical, with heavy growth of plankton and sea grass.

Petroleum is found near the north and west coast of this gulf. Many hurricanes hit this area — for example, in 2005 Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita hurt many of the oil wells in the United States. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important offshore petroleum-production regions in the world, making one-sixth of the United States' total production.[5] There is also a big fishing industry in the Gulf.

The Gulf was formed by plate tectonics about 300 million years ago.[6]

Gulf of America

On January 20, 2025, United States president Donald Trump signed an executive order that told United States executive branch federal agencies to use "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico". The order said that this would happen to the northernmost part of the Gulf within U.S. boundaries and would be changed in federal documents.[7][8] This change was done on January 24, 2025.[9] The order is not binding on any other part of, or outside, the federal government. Other countries bordering the Gulf, including Mexico and Cuba, have said they will continue to use the "Gulf of Mexico" name.[10] Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Bing Maps have chosen to vary the name displayed for the Gulf based on user location.[11][12][13][14] People in the United States see "Gulf of America"; people in Mexico see "Gulf of Mexico"; and, in all other countries, "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)".[14][15][16][17][18]

On January 23, 2025, the Associated Press (AP), a major news organization, announced that its reports would use "Gulf of Mexico" while noting Trump's decision to call it the "Gulf of America".[19][20] On February 11, 2025, the White House started to block AP reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the AP did not fully adopt "Gulf of America".[21][22] Most other major news websites and organizations also continue to use "Gulf of Mexico", as they follow AP guidance.[23] Some Republican-leaning news outlets, such as Fox News, use "Gulf of America" instead.[24] Axios and USA Today use both names for the gulf in tandem.[24][25] Some broadcast weather reporters have opted to call it simply "the Gulf".[26]

Notes

  1. ↑ Usually, in Spanish, the name of the country is spelled México; however, in Peninsular (European) Spanish, the variant Méjico is used alongside the usual version. According to the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas by the Royal Spanish Academy and Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, the version with J is also correct; however, the spelling with X is recommended, as it is the one used in Mexico.[1]

References

  1. ↑ México in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas by Royal Spanish Academy and Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, Madrid: Santillana. 2005. ISBN 978-8-429-40623-8.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "General Facts about the Gulf of Mexico". GulfBase.org. Archived from the original on 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  3. ↑ "Gulf of Mexico – a sea in Atlantic Ocean". www.deepseawaters.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Gulf of Mexico Region". National Marine Ecosystem Status. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  5. ↑ "Gulf of Mexico Fact Sheet". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  6. ↑ Huerta A.D. & Harry D.L. 2012. Wilson cycles, tectonic inheritance, and rifting of the North American Gulf of Mexico continental margin. Geosphere. 8(1):GES00725.1, March 6, 2012. doi:10.1130/GES00725.1
  7. ↑ Trump, Donald J. (January 20, 2025). "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness". The White House. Washington, D.C. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  8. ↑ Rogero, Tiago (2025-01-20). "Can Trump really rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  9. ↑ Frazin, Rachel (2025-01-24). "Feds implement 'Gulf of America,' 'Mount McKinley' name changes". The Hill. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  10. ↑ Wagner, James (2025-01-28). "'The Gulf of America'? Here's What Mexicans and Cubans Think". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  11. ↑ Google Maps to rename 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for US users, Reuters, January 28, 2025
  12. ↑ Grant, Nico (January 27, 2025). "How Google Maps Plans to Handle the 'Gulf of America'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  13. ↑ Gurman, Mark (11 February 2025). "Apple Is Renaming Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps App". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Rogers, Reece (February 11, 2025). "Here's How All Online Maps Are Handling the 'Gulf of Mexico' Name Change". Wired. San Francisco. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Google Maps to rename 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for US users". Reuters. January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  16. ↑ Grant, Nico (January 27, 2025). "How Google Maps Plans to Handle the 'Gulf of America'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Gulf of America name change in the U.S. — what you'll see in Maps". The Keyword (Press release). Google. February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Google maps changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America for US users". www.bbc.com. 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  19. ↑ Barrett, Amanda (January 23, 2025). "AP style guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley" (Press release). Associated Press. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  20. ↑ "The AP establishes style guidance on the Gulf of Mexico and Mount McKinley". Associated Press. January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  21. ↑ "White House blocks AP reporter from Oval Office event over 'Gulf of America' policy". Voice of America. Washington, D.C. February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  22. ↑ Stelter, Brian (February 14, 2025). "The White House bans the AP indefinitely over the use of 'Gulf of Mexico'". Atlanta: CNN. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ Power, William (January 28, 2025). "Mount McKinley, 'Gulf of America'". Style & Substance. Vol. 38, no. 1. New York City: Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Benton, Joshua (February 13, 2025). "Trump wants news outlets to get on board with 'Gulf of America' — or else. Will they?". Nieman Journalism Lab. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Nieman Foundation for Journalism. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  25. ↑ Murdock, Sebastian (February 15, 2025). "Axios Caves To Trump, Will Refer To Gulf Of Mexico As 'Gulf Of America'". HuffPost. New York City. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  26. ↑ Dance, Scott (February 1, 2025). "Yes, really, it's going to be called the Gulf of America". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved March 3, 2025.

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